How to Tell If Someone Is in Your Closet

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Worried if someone is in your closet before you open it? Afraid of surprises? The following are some basic steps you can use to ensure no surprises when you open the door.

Listen for any rustling or breathing from the closet. Clothes generally create no noise but air conditioners can mask the sound. In a nice, quiet, room, you can hear the person in your closet breathing.

Look for any signs that your closet has been opened or tampered with, generally a badly closed door or something moved out of the way. Keep in mind that someone inside your closet generally will have a hard time closing the door.

Turn on the light (or use a flashlight) to peer inside the closet before opening it if your closet has a slit in it. If not, try looking under the closet to see feet. This step should be taken with caution, as the person inside may notice and pop out at you. But remember, as the person outside, you have the best control over the doors!

Lock your closet somehow. Make sure that it makes a noise locking it. Then fake closing your door ( open the door, count to 2, then close it ). If someone is inside there, they would be freaking out because they can't get out.

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Bang on the closet door loudly. This may scare the intruder. Then, listen for heavy, loud breathing.

Tips

Some closet security experts suggest putting a phone nearby the closet and then getting a friend to dial that number and let it ring. Monsters and human closet intruders will be sorely tempted to answer the phone after a few dozen rings.

If someone is jumping out at you habitually, here's a way to tamper-proof the closet: pluck a hair and moisten it, then place it across the doors in such a way that it sticks to both doors across the opening. If someone enters your closet later, they may not notice the hair: if they do, they'll be unable to replace it. When you return to your room, check out the hair -- if it's been disturbed, you'll be prepared.

Warning

If you fear someone in your closet may actually be there to kidnap or assault you, or if you feel that you are in serious danger in any other way, do NOT investigate the closet yourself. Calmly leave the apartment or house, and then call the police.

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 29 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 29,765 times.